4.5 out of 5 Stars

Synopsis

As a boy, Malik watched an army of religious zealots swarm his home town, slaughtering his people and running his beloved grandfather through with a black sword. Nine years later, Malik still believes there’s peace…somewhere. At least that’s what he tells himself as his body is ripped apart by whips at a conversion camp. That’s what his best friend whispers as he frantically creates new force technology and jetpacks to rescue Malik. Yet when war bursts through the skies and the sky troopers, assassins, and heroes fall, when the world comes crashing down, Malik Zzoha stands amidst the sands to lead a band of friends and revolutionaries to face his tyrannical, zealot father, determined to free the people he loves.

My Thoughts

“If war has taught me anything, it’s that things always go to crud 99% of the time.”

Okay…. Too soon after reading this book to be writing a review, and I hope that I don’t offend TOO many people! Two things that I try to stay out of in my life are Politics (if you’ve looked through my blog, you’ve seen how good THAT has gone!!) and Religion. Well, lucky me… this book was RIFE WITH BOTH!!

Now, I mean this in the best of ways. Set in a “futuristic world” which was built MAGNIFICENTLY! This world was something that we could all relate to. I think the only issue that I had with this book was that it all felt too real which will probably make some people uncomfortable, as… it’s not a pretty mirror to look into.

A man has stepped up to take the throne as everyone’s “god”, he has his soldiers, led by Malik’s father, instill his will on others. This, of course, includes murdering all of the naysayers, or anyone caught doing ANYTHING for that matter! ..Hell, I’d be worried to be caught jaywalking in this society!! (is that a Canadian thing??) . Women are thought of as inferior beings and are forced to keep their mouths shut and their faces covered (seriously, is any of this sounding vaguely familiar??)

“Any that talk about wanting peace should always be taken with a large grain of salt, because it usually takes a war and many deaths to get there.”

Now, trying hard not to make this into a “But I digress..” about religion, but the thing that I loved about this book was that everyone thinks they’re right! They all think that their particular “god” will save them. It reminded me of a story:

“A man was trapped in his house during a flood. He began praying to God to rescue him. He had a vision in his head of God’s hand reaching down from heaven and lifting him to safety. The water started to rise in his house. His neighbour urged him to leave and offered him a ride to safety. The man yelled back, “I am waiting for God to save me.” The neighbour drove off in his pick-up truck.

The man continued to pray and hold on to his vision. As the water began rising in his house, he had to climb up to the roof. A boat came by with some people heading for safe ground. They yelled at the man to grab a rope they were ready to throw and take him to safety. He told them that he was waiting for God to save him. They shook their heads and moved on.

The man continued to pray, believing with all his heart that he would be saved by God. The flood waters continued to rise. A helicopter flew by and a voice came over a loudspeaker offering to lower a ladder and take him off the roof. The man waved the helicopter away, shouting back that he was waiting for God to save him. The helicopter left. The flooding water came over the roof and caught him up and swept him away. He drowned.

When he reached heaven and asked, “God, why did you not save me? I believed in you with all my heart. Why did you let me drown?” God replied, “I sent you a pick-up truck, a boat and a helicopter and you refused all of them. What else could I possibly do for you?””

Everyone in this story seems to think that to believe in something, this “god” must stop a sword, or somehow save them from great peril…. It was Monty Python’s witch hunts all over again!

I will put in a warning here that this book is not for the feint of heart. It’s like “Lemony Snicket’s Series of Unfortunate Events” for adults. Through the first half of this book Malik just cannot catch a break! It is somewhat hard to deal with, but so real at the same time!! I don’t know if I could have taken any more of the rage and emotions that I felt for this character’s turmoil. They give him hope, and then they will take it away in the most awful way.

All I can say is PLEASE, READ THIS BOOK!!! It will hurt your soul, but only due to the reflections it will cast on our own societies. I’m definitely in for the long haul on this one, I can’t wait for book 2!!

Pick up your Copy Here!!

Author Bio

Juan Zapata is a senior at Alabama A&M, expected to graduate December 2018. He majors in Criminal Justice and is a member of the AAMU Honors Program. Born in Mexico, Juan came to the United States at four years old. When he is not writing, Juan likes to play For Honor and pretend he’s a knight, laughing with happiness at his victories and nearly having aneurisms when defeated.

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Published by The BookWorm Drinketh

I am Nicole and I am an avid reader and an alcohol connoisseur.. which it totally different from an alcoholic.. I swear. I am trying to get into the editing world and in doing so I learned that giving my opinions and networking in as many forms of media as I could is the way to get heard! I wanted to create an open forum to pair alcoholic drinks with books based on the theme, feel and/or content of the book.
I will warn anyone who joins me here that you will get a very eclectic range of books as I will read anything from Rom Coms, sci-fi, and fantasy to Bizzaro, Steampunk and Biographies, whatever pairs with an interesting drink! I will also say that I am very honest and I will not pander to the popular or feel the need to give a good review just because I got an ARC read of a certain book. I believe that everyone deserves the truth no matter how much it hurts.. EVEN ME! I would love everyone’s opinions! AND LET THE DRINKS FLOW!! (Let’s just not have the drinks make the honesty get TOO out of hand!) ;p
View all posts by The BookWorm Drinketh

Sounds like a fascinating, if difficult, read. Great review as always. I don’t generally like books that have this much violence or war, but you make it sound very readable. And of course, your cocktail looks potent as usual. 🙂

It really was a fantastic read! Definitely painful. But, I got word from the author after posting that a “mirror” is exactly what he was going for. He really wanted us to see our society in his writing and he got that BRILLIANTLY!
The drink was GREAT!! 💖💖 I was so happy to have a reason to use the mold for ice glasses that I got while staying at the ice hotel in Quebec! 🙃😂

I actually know that story you were talking about! (Surprised? I’m not lying either…I really do know it) I have really seen this book make an appearance nearly everywhere this week, and it’s already on my to read list. But of course with the Bloody Torture Cocktail…it becomes even better (seriously how do you come up with these names 😮😮😮😂😂😂) Wonderful review indeed!! And I loved the fact that you put that story in it! 😊😊 Definitely need to check this one out 😊😊😊😊

Lol….It’s already on my list, but as you know that list is so huge it’s going to take my oh…about 40000 years to get through it…give or take (might also be 39999 years…but who’s counting 😂😂😂). So…you haven’t failed…it’s just me…😂😂😂😂😂

Didn’t even realize that was my reply!! 😂😂😂 IT’S becoming way too natural for me…. I’m so sorry…. I don’t feel your pain though. I have 5000 books I HAVE to read… You have 5000 books you CAN read. 😉😂😂😂💖💖💖💖💖 Have I told you today that you’re the bestest?? 😙

Haha……😂😂 Was almost tempted to answer this one with…hm. But naw…that would have been way too cruel, especially after such a sweet comment from you❤️❤️❤️❤️ Thanks so much! Just so you know (but apparently you don’t know lol😂😂…so are you 😊😊❤️❤️😊😊).
Haha….I know I know…you have it worse than me….sorry….😂😂😂😂

Oh, you want to remember this one!! The drink was great, but the book was BRILLIANT!! 😍😍 I can’t wait for the next 2! (P.S. HAPPY ALMOST BIRTHDAY, since I’m going to be working 2 jobs tomorrow… So, about 14 hrs!! I’m trying to get your drunken uncle speech done! Hopefully, it’ll be up for you! 😂😂)